Learn From the King

Award-winning underground film king Jon Moritsugu (Terminal USA, Fame Whore, Scumrock, Mod Fuck Explosion) will teach an intensive, one-day crash course on low-budget film and video production and distribution. The workshop will take place Saturday, Jan. 16, from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. at Warehouse 21 in Santa Fe (1614 Paseo de Peralta). The class will set filmmakers back a mere $50. Moritsugu’s crash course will focus on low- and no-budget solutions to common problems—from “finding a crew who will work for free” to “film festival scams.” Moritsugu has written, directed and produced more than a dozen films for between $100 and $360,000. His work has played at festivals and exhibits around the world, including Sundance Film Festival, Toronto International Film Festival, New York Underground Film Festival, New York’s Museum of Modern Art, the Guggenheim and the Museum of Modern Art in Paris. For more information about the class as well as payment details, e-mail ponkrock@centurytel.net or call (505) 819-9881. You can learn more about Moritsugu at jonmoritsugu.com.

Spanish filmmaker gets serious, mysterious

By Devin D. O’Leary

Spanish auteur Pedro Almodóvar has always worshipped at the altar of the classic Hollywood melodrama. The earthly avatars of Bette Davis, Joan Crawford and Douglas Sirk have long watched over his art-house productions (Women on the Verge of a Nervous Breakdown, Tie Me Up! Tie Me Down!, High Heels, Kika, The Flower of My Secret, Live Flesh, All About My Mother). His latest effort, the self-referential movie industry meller Broken Embraces, is no exception. ... Except that it marks a minor turning point in Almodóvar’s career. This is Almodóvar at his most mature, his most serious. Gone are the drag queens, the sexy nuns and op-art wallpaper. There’s not a trace of camp in this cyclical, soap opera-heavy romance. And yet the film is still unmistakably Almodóvar, right down to the strong central performance by his longtime muse Penélope Cruz.

Smart, rude teen comedy finds real humor in mock rebellion

By Devin D. O’Leary

Directed with gusto by controversial indie filmmaker Miguel Arteta (Star Maps, Chuck & Buck), starring overexposed but always amusing Michael Cera (Superbad, Juno, Nick and Norah's Infinite Playlist, Year One) and based on the picaresque cult novel by C.D. Payne, Youth in Revolt has the sole misfortune of being a wry, rude, coming-of-age movie in an era already well-saturated with wry, rude, coming-of-age movies. Those who caught Cera in 2007’s Juno can be forgiven for getting a certain been-there-done-that vibe off Youth in Revolt’s trailers. It’s not that Youth in Revolt does anything wildly distinctive, but it’s an intelligent laugh-getter that doesn’t spoil its source material by going Hollywood.

The ghost of TV future

By Devin D. O’Leary

Here we sit, poised between the Aughts (or whatever we’re calling them) and the teens (not to be confused with that last set of teens with World War I and all that junk). It is a time for both reflection and prognostication. What was so great/awful about the last 10 years? What will happen in the next 10 years? Take TV, for example. “The Sopranos” sure was nifty. Remember Darva Conger from “Who Wants to Marry a Multi-Millionaire?” getting naked in Playboy? Crazy days. That covers the last 10 years. Now, let’s look into our cathode-ray crystal ball and speculate on changes for the coming decade.